Police present $1.6M FY21 fleet need; lead time and repair costs complicate replacement plan

Captain Andrew Clark and Sergeant Ray Shaw presented the police department’s vehicle needs on July 19, laying out a roughly $1.6 million estimate for FY21 to replace 19 vehicles and add 10 more, plus a community service aide vehicle or an interim conversion. Clark and Shaw said the department maintains about 372 vehicles (173 marked, 117 unmarked, 82 specialty) and that the collective-bargaining replacement standard for marked patrol cars is either eight years or 140,000 miles. They reported multiple total-loss vehicles in FY21 and noted risk-management recoveries for wrecked vehicles recover only a fraction of replacement cost. Clark said much of the FY21 replacement need stems from vehicles meeting the contract thresholds or being total losses; he listed 15 contract-mandated replacements and additional needs tied to grant-funded positions that will eventually return to the general fund. The department provided per-unit cost estimates. Full build-out of a new marked patrol vehicle (including dealer options, emergency equipment and a full police electronics package) runs in the roughly $52,000–$57,000 range depending on whether equipment can be reused. Clark warned that "It takes approximately 12 to 14 months from the time you submit a purchase order to the time a vehicle goes into service," and that long lead times make multi-year planning necessary. Sergeant Shaw described a short-term option to convert an existing vehicle for community-service use at about $2,000, noting the conversion would be a temporary remedy because aging vehicles have higher maintenance costs. Commissioners asked about insurance reimbursement levels, the life-cycle benefits of take-home assignments versus hot-seated cars, and whether hybrids or electric vehicles had been considered. Staff said take-home assignments generally extend vehicle life, that hybrid/EV options remain more expensive to purchase and repair (staff cited high battery-replacement costs), and that insurance recoveries are structured around standard market (blue-book) values; staff said they would research premium/coverage alternatives. No formal funding decision was recorded July 19; staff flagged that FY22 will include additional vehicle and specialty-vehicle needs (and a preliminary FY22 vehicle estimate near $2.4 million was noted) and recommended the commission consider multi-year budgeting to avoid future fleet replacement spikes.